Why I love these "transitional" contacts, even though they make my eyes look creepy (2023)

I walk out of my office on a sunny morning and the intense bright light makes me squint. Instead of searching for my sunglasses like I always do, I wait a few seconds for my new ones.contact lensesadapt to light Within 30 seconds, the sunlight is less intense, almost like wearing sunglasses, but not quite.

I have been wearing Acuvue Oasys contact lenses for 12 years, but in the last two weeks I switched from my regular contact lenses to the new Acuvue contact lenses.Oasys with soft contact lenses Transitions Light Intelligent Technology, which automatically adapt to different lighting conditions. I bet you know whattransition lensesThey are - those glasses that darken in the sun and lighten again when you enter.

Johnson y Johnson(owner of Acuvue) joined forcestransitions visually, the brand that created these color-changing glasses. After more than a decade of product development and testing, they first introduced contact lenses in the US in March. I tested them to see how they work.

They are great? Total. Do they help you see the sun better? Yes. Do they sometimes make me look like an alien from the X-Files and scare my friends? Definitive.

Keep reading: Scientists Are Making Contact Lenses That Zoom When You Blink Twice|The best places to buy prescription glasses online

How do Acuvue Oasys lenses work with Transitions?

These Acuvue contact lenses feature Transitions Light Intelligent Technology, aphotochromic additive- Mixed in the smoothhydrogel materialthat's what the lens does. When this photochromic additive is exposed to ultraviolet light orblue light screensand incandescent bulbs, darken the lenses to block UV rays and excessive light waves, just like sunglasses.

Contact lenses adjust throughout the day to ensure a constant amount of light reaches your eye, whether you're in a dark theater or out in the sun. When your eyes are exposed to UV light, it takes about 45 seconds for the lenses to completely darken. Once logged in, they will be cleared in about 90 seconds or less.

I should note thatOther Acuvue contactsand contact lenses from other brands, such asbioverdaderoYclarity-- also blocks UV rays but remains crystal clear in any light.

As you look?

Throughout the day, contact lenses change color from clear to a rich dark purple-brown. The darkening effect is strongest in bright direct sunlight without sunglasses. If you work in an office, you won't see much tint most of the day.

On my hazel green eyes, these lenses take on a dark purplish brown shade and completely block out the natural color of my iris. Like other soft contact lenses, these completely cover the pupil and iris, with a small overlap with the rest of the eyeball. I have to admit, they give me a downright weird look that scared pretty much everyone I showed them to.

With filtered sunlight on an overcast day, they still suit, just a lighter shade of purplish brown. Even when I take them out at night after the sun has gone down and I've been watching TV or playing on my phone, they have a slight purple/brown tint when I put them in a case. In the morning they are almost clear.

Who are these contacts for?

Johnson & Johnson developed these lenses to combat photosensitivity. Anyone who has stepped outside on a sunny day and immediately started blinking knows what it is like.

Charissa Lee, director of professional education at Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, told CNET that an Acuvue Transition lens "reduces vision interference from bright light by up to 32% and continuously adjusts from light to dark and back, which helps your eyes adapt to changes in light better than they would on their own.”

Acuvue Transitions contacts could also benefit those with experiencePhotophobia, which is caused by a variety of conditions including migraines and dry eye. For several days after having a migraine, bright light is painful, a bright screen is hard to focus on, and I have particles in my vision. Although these contact lenses cannot correct photophobia (this is a neurological problem), can help you better deal with symptoms.

Do they replace sunglasses?

While Acuvue Oasys reaches its darkest shade with Transitions lenses in sunny weather, they are not a substitute for sunglasses. While glasses block UV rays, sunglasses are important as they help protect the entire eye and the skin around it from the damage that UV rays can cause.cataracts, macular degeneration, corneal sunburn and skin cancer.

They also don't get as dark as sunglasses and offer no polarization, which significantly reduces glare. If you already wear sunglasses regularly, these contact lenses will help you squint when you go out without them on a bright day. But you should still wear sunglasses to block out extra light to make it easier to see. Also, if your sunglasses block UV rays (and they should!), your contacts won't reach their total darkness, minimizing the "alien" look.

Whether or not you wear sunglasses on a daily basis, know that, like the transition lenses in eyeglasses, these contact lenses do not darken when you drive because car windshields block the sun's UV rays, which it makes the lenses react.

There are some situations where I feel like these contacts are a better alternative to sunglasses. The first is the golden hour, just before sunset, when wearing sunglasses makes your vision too dark but still too bright not to wear. The same goes for cloudy, foggy mornings, which are very common in San Francisco, where I live, work, and have tried the lenses. When the sky is cloudy, the filtered sunlight is bright enough to bother my eyes, but when I wear sunglasses, my vision appears too dark.

How to test them?

If you are new to contact lens wear, your first step is an eye exam to obtain a contact lens prescription. If you already have a valid prescription, ask your doctor for a trial pair of Acuvue Oasys with Transitions, which should be free. You can also continue searchingAcuvues websiteto find doctors near you who already have Transitions lenses available for you to try.

For this story, I called my doctor's office (which also sells contact lenses and glasses locally) and they ordered me a free pair of trial glasses. I picked them up and they told me that if I liked the lenses and wanted to change them, my doctor could write me a prescription for these specific lenses. So you could buy complete cases, either there or elsewhere.sell contacts.

Of course, this can be handled differently in each doctor's office or eye clinic. I had just had an eye exam and a new prescription a few months prior to this experiment, so the process was painless.

keep reading:The best places to buy contact lenses online

Are they more expensive than other contacts?

Not necessarily. Contact lenses vary greatly in price depending on the brand and where you buy them. The Acuvue representative told me that each doctor, optometrist, or online eyeglass store sets the prices for the contact lenses they sell, so there is no set price.

The most common price I can find for a box of sixAcuvue Oasys with Transitions lenses is $55(or $9 per lens), but you can find them forless than $50in differentonline optical stores.

i am currently usingAcuvue Oasys con lente Hydraclear Plus, which are currently only sold in packs of 12 or 24. Boxes of twelve packs online are priced at around$35A$70, depending on the retailer. All these prices are out of pocket without insurance.

If you're really interested in using Acuvue Oasys with Transitions, crunch the numbers and see how your cost compares to what you're currently using. Can I get a 12 packcurrent contacts for $34($2.83 per lens) I would save a lot if I didn't switch.

So will I continue to use them?

Like my other Acuvue lenses, these Oasys with Transitions should be worn daily for two weeks before discarding for another pair. During the two weeks that I tried these lenses, I felt contradictory.

I was impressed by how well they worked: my photosensitive eyes felt less strained and bright lights didn't bother me as much. But I was also put off by the reaction from my friends and colleagues about how fully tinted lenses looked on my eyes (when I intentionally wore them outside without sunglasses). I can only be called a creepy alien so many times before the comment starts to sting.

The last day I wore the Transition lenses I came to the conclusion that they were not useful enough for future use. That means until the next day.

I packed a new pair of my regular contacts and headed out the door. As I walked to my bus stop, I quickly realized how much Transition lenses helped my eyes adjust to the sunlight, especially on a foggy morning. And when I got to my office in sunny downtown San Francisco, the sunlight reflecting off the buildings and through the huge window next to my desk was more blinding and less bearable than with Transitions lenses. Even staring at a computer screen, which strains my eyes and occasionally blurs my vision, was a little better with Transitions contact lenses.

As of this writing, it's been a week since I left Transitions and I already miss them. So much so that as soon as I'm done with my current stash of "regular" lenses, I plan to switch again.

Update of 09/04/2019:After wearing my original lenses for a few weeks, I saved up for a year's supply of Transitions lenses. I went from being super skeptical and a little crazy about how they made my eyes look to a convert that redeemed a few of their own.FSAto get them.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions about a medical condition or health goals.